England stand on the verge of realising their ambition of becoming the world’s
best Test team but have been warned that remaining at the top will be a far
tougher challenge.

If England win this series by two Tests, and they have ambitions to double that difference, India will lose the top status they have held for only 18 months.

India have failed to build the lasting legacy of Test dominance that Australia managed for a generation and it is reaching those heights that Gautam Gambhir, the India opener, believes will be the toughest task for England.

"It is very easy to be No 1 but very difficult to sustain it," he said. "It is about staying there for a long period, not just for one or two series. That does not make a lot of difference. They are dominating teams at home but the big challenge is going overseas.

"England deserve to be No1. They have played some good cricket but staying there is going to be far more difficult."

Alastair Cook batted away with almost as much ease as he showed at the crease any suggestions this Test is already over, but he did give a glimpse of the team’s long-term ambitions.

"As a team we try to improve every time we play," he said. "The Ashes was fantastic and we are hitting those standards but we are not satisfied with what we have done. We never will be because this team wants to stay together for a long time and do something very special."

England could lose their No1 status by the time they play their next Test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in February. South Africa have to win all five of their Test matches against Australia and Sri Lanka at home to be ranked higher than England.

South Africa tour England next year and will play a three-Test series which looks set to provide a second successive summer when the No1 spot is on the line.

Gambhir appeared to virtually concede that this series was over unless his team could show the tenacity that has been missing for this entire tour. "We have to show some character and fight," he said. "In the past we have batted 2½ days to save matches and we need to do that and show some grit."

Cook displayed again his masterful skills of concentration batting for the entire day on Thursday to leave him in sight of Test double hundred.

"We talk about trying to make daddy hundreds [scores in excess of 150] and I think I have managed to do that with my last few but we will just focus on trying to get through the first hour tomorrow morning and then see where it takes us," he said.